Germs: The Sad Story of The Lemon Wedge in Your Drink

This week, I wrote about the so-called dirtiest foods in the food chain (bagged lettuce, peaches, ground beef made the list--read more here). Yahoo's Shine site recently picked up the post, and someone left a fascinating comment about the very unfortunate (and gross!) story of the journey of the humble lemon wedge in your drink. You have to read this!

Yahoo user "Habanero" posted this story: "I worked in restaurants for years and here is what I saw. The lemons and limes were delivered and put into the walk-in cooler. When the bartender needs a hand full of them he would go grab them by putting them in his apron. He would then slice them up on a cutting board and put them into cups and place them on the bar. Customer # 1 orders a beer and pays for the beer. The bartender stuffs the cash into the register. Customer # 2 orders a vodka and soda with a lemon. Bartender reaches into the ice bin and fills the cup, grabs a lemon and squeezes the lemon into the drink. At no time does any water touch the fruit or his hands and this goes on all day. Money, ice and fruit. Oh, and the occasional trip to the john. And nothing you wrote about gets washed in a restaurant. I have worked in some very high-notch places."

Can you say gross? Past research has confirmed "Habenero's" testimonial with hard facts: Researchers believe that many of the lemon wedges found at most restaurants are a breeding ground of bugs (I won't gross you out, but fecal bacteria and staph top the list).

What to do? I always skip the lemon and lime wedges when eating out--as much as I love them. Or, do what this commentator does. "Habanero" adds: "I forgot to mention (and people are going to think I am really weird) I bring my own cut up fruit (lemons) and order my drinks straight up. Water, no ice, thank you. What is going on in the kitchen is bad enough."